"The Fire Threat For the Upcoming Winter Is Expected to Be Considerable."

​Along with the chart you see above, which celebrates (no, wait, that's not the right word) our record-breaking 70th day of temperatures at or above 100, the National Weather Service directs our attention to the latest Drought Information Statement issued a few days ago. Long story short: The bad ("blistering temperatures" and "negligible precipitation") will only get worse in coming months.

Autumn cold fronts will bring relief from the heat but will also
exacerbate the fire danger by increasing winds and reducing
humidity. With the likelihood of a second La Nina winter, the fire
threat for the upcoming winter is expected to be considerable.

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"In the year 1910 began a long period of drought extending almost through the entire year of 1911. The water situation in Dallas during these dry months became acute and pititable. during the summer and fall of 1911, almost no rain fell and Dallas was in desperate need of water."

"The fall and wintero f 1911-1912 was a trying time for Dallas in many ways, and at no time in its history has the Dallas spirit shown more superbly. The lack of water supply during the drought was a trying ordeal; many people thought that it spelled ruin for Dallas."

"Then in April 1912, just at the windiest time of the spring, came the most dreaded threat of fire that Dallas has ever had since that terrible July Sunday in 1860 when the whole town was burned. After a windy day in April, 1912, a fire destroyed the Buell planing mill and lumber yard and many wooden houses near the Texas Central railway on Live Oak Street....Fortunately the wind had died down, and after terrific battle the firemen checked the flames. If the wind had blown during the fire as it had been blowing a few hours earlier, all the business part of Dallas would have been burned to the Trinity River."

I've been saying it all summer: it's not the highs that have been killing me, it's the lows. I should NEVER leave for work at 4:30 a.m. and see the thermometer in my car read 86 degrees. But I did this summer, for about 2 months straight. Damn depressing.